What are the Best Tablets for Graphic Design? Whether you are an illustrator, digital artist or Graphic Designer, adding a good drawing tablet to your work will surely improve your work flow. But how do you go about choosing the best one in a field clustered with too many brands and tablet versions?
I have checked out various tablet brands from a graphic design point of view and come up with a list of the best ones available. The list will cover art specialised tablets such as Wacom and Huion brands, and general purpose tablets such as iPads and Android Tablets.
Additionally, we have considered the types of tablet whether you need to connect to a computer or not. The list has both high end professional and expensive devices plus affordable beginner friendly tablets too.
What is the Best Tablet for Graphic Design
Wacom Cintiq 16 is the best overall tablet for graphic design. It offers great perfomance and value despite its very affordable price range.
Is a Tablet a Must have for Graphic Designers?
Although tablets are convenient and a great additin, they are not a must have for graphic designers or digital artists. However, many have opted for them for an easier and faster workflow.
Unlike a computer mouse, the tablet pen and screen come together to create apen to paper like feel when working that would be impossible for a mouse to achieve.
What is the difference between a Standalone and Graphic Tablet?
There are different types of tablets. Standalone Tablets do not need to be connected to a computer to use. They have a screen and inbuilt computer where you can install software.
Graphic Tablets have a screen that you can draw on but lack a computer to install software. You must connect to a computer to use. Lastly we have a category of tablet without a screen and computer. They have an active area where you draw on. They must be connected to a computer.
As a graphic designer, you can choose to use any of these types depending on how you intend to use them.
Best Tablets for Graphic Design
- Wacom Cintiq 16 – Best Overall
- Wacom Cintiq 22 – Best tablet for Graphic design and animation
- XP-Pen Artist 12 – Most affordable tablet
- Apple iPad Pro 12.9 inch – Best iPad for Graphic Design
- Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra – Samsung tablet for graphic design
- Huion H610 Pro Best graphic design tablet for beginners
- Wacom Intuos Pro Medium – Best Wacom for Graphic Design
- Huion Kamvas Pro 13 – Best tablet under 300$
- Huion Inspiroy H640P – Cheapest Tablet
- Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus (4K) – Best HuionTablet for Graphic Design
Wacom Cintiq 16 Best Tablet for Graphic Design
Wacom Cintiq 16 is the best one that you can buy. It combines both power and perfomance to an affordable price. This device us created by Wacom, a big brand in digital art industry so you can be sure it is specifically made with graphic designers and artists in mind.
The screen is large and comfortable to use at 15.6 inches. Additionally, the display is clean and clear thanks to full HD 1920 by 1080 pixels of screen resolution.
Wacom stylus technology is arguably the best in the industry and bigger companies like Microsoft and Samsung are not shy to ask for assistance in this sector from the company.
The Wacom Cintiq 16’s Pro Pen 2 is a good example of a great stylus with a +60 degrees tilt function enabling pressure sensors to be more accurate and precise. The pen comes in very cheap too and you will not have to spend too much. Even more important,the pen has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and is also battery free.
Pros
- Great stylus
- Great Perfomance
- Large working space.
- High-definition screen display.
Cons
- No extra Nibs
Wacom Cintiq 22 Best tablet for Graphic design and animation
The Wacom Cintiq22 is one of the larger build tablets in this segment with an astounding 19.5 x 11.5 inches of area. This is great for a designer for this working space is large and offers an easy clear view enhanced by its screen resolution of 1920 x 1080.
Additionally, the screen has an Anti Glare technology that prevents light bounce back, therefore, preventing eye strain by the designer.
The tablet comes with a high-tech stylus with a tilt function and its pressure sensitivity of 8192 is very important in line precision and control.
Moreover, the Wacom Pro pen 2 with 60 degrees natural tilt recognition enables the pen to be accurate and precise. A 233 PPI response rate levels kill lags for a smooth more efficient workflow and eliminate parallax.
When it comes to nib replacement, the Cintiq22 comes with 3 spare nibs attached in a detachable pen holder further offering pen stability.
Fitted with an inbuilt adjustable 16-82 degree stand, you can customize your positions to your most comfortable angle. Hand rest additionally creates longer productive hours by eliminating fatigue.
Connection is made using an HDMI and a USB cable with compatibility to most design software made possible as well as macOS and Windows operating systems.
Pros
- Offers a large working area for a designer.
- High screen resolution for clear display.
- Anti Glare technology protects users from strain and light bounce back.
- High-pressure sensitivity levels ensure precise drawing.
- High tech stylus with a tilt function brings about pen control and a nice feel to it.
Cons
- Its size may pose problems when packing and moving around with the tablet.
Apple iPad Pro Best iPad for Graphic Design
The Apple iPad Pro is the Best tablet for Graphic design available in the market today. The tablet works with Apple pencil 2 which is a professional level battery free stylus. You do not have to connect to charge because it will charge itself once placed on the magnetic storing space on the top area of your iPad.
An M1 chip, similar to one on the iMac and Apple Macbook pro powers the latest version of the Apple iPad Pro 12.9 making it fast and reliable.You can imagine how powerful it is when combined with 16 GB RAM.
Unfortunately, you will have to pay extra for the pencil because it is sold separately. Additionally, this tablet is quite expensive compared to other brands. However, it’s worth every penny and the pencil is highly accurate with perfect pressure sensitivity.
The massive storage space up to 2 TB will save your projects, software, and extra files such as games. If you’re an artist or graphic designer looking for a drawing tablet with a lower budget, you can take a look at Apple’s older versions of drawing tablets on amazon.
We recommend that you go for the Apple iPad 12.9 if you can afford it because it cannot be compared to other brands. Tech doesn’t come cheap, and neither is the Apple iPad 12.9 drawing tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Ultra Samsung tablet for graphic design
- Screen: Super AMOLED 14.6 inches
- Resolution: 2960×1848 Pixels 16:10 ratio
- Processor: SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
- RAM: 8/16 GB
- Storage: 128/256/512 GB
- Camera: 12 MP Rear and Front
- Battery life: 8 hours
The Samsung Galaxy S8 comes in 3 different versions. You can either go for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 or the S8 plus, both 12.4 inches in screen size. The third option is in my opinion the best android tablet you can buy today.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra comes with a massive landscape 14.1 inches screen size. It has one of the best displays on any Android tablet and will easily rival the Apple iPad Pro 12.9 inches.
The Super AMOLED Screen comes in high resolution at 2960 x 1848 pixel resolution and 16:10 aspect ratio. It is the largest OLED screen in the industry today.
The overall body and build of the tablet is nice and premium featuring slim uniform bezels around the massive screen. The screen is intended to be used in a landscape orientation so you will notice the small indent on the longer side bezel to fit the tablets 2 4K cameras.
Whether you need a tablet for drawing or even gaming, the Galaxy S8 Ultra packs enough power and performance to easily handle any task you throw at it.
Just like many premium Samsung Tablets it comes with the standard S Pen that sticks on top of the tablet to pause in between workflow.
The battery life runs up to 8 hours which is ok for a whole day use, but slightly shorter than the iPad Pro at 10 hours. Overall this is a large premium tablet that you can use for many professional and power intensive functions.
XP-Pen Artist 12 – Most affordable tablet
image credits XP-Pen Store
If you are looking for a good professional and affordable tablet, the XP-Pen Artist 12 is your best pick. It is a graphic tablet and has its own inbuilt screen.
The screen is 11.6 inches just an inch smaller than the Apple iPad Pro. You will view your work in high full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution and at a wide 178 degrees viewing angle.
If you work outdoors or in High light conditions, the screen comes with an antireflective coat to avoid environmental reflections.
The advanced battery-free P06 stylus is perfect for artists thanks to 8192 pen pressure levels. It features a unique hexagonal design that allows better grip. You will also get the pen for free if you buy from the XP-Pen store.
Customisable keys can help you improve speed of output by setting to your favourite quick go to functions. The XP-Pen comes with 6 customisable keys and a touch bar.
Huion H610 Pro Affordable drawing tablet
The Huion H610 Pro is a tablet with a working area and a screen resolution of 5080 LPI. This gives you ample space to work on your designs with a nice view and display of your work. High-pressure sensitivity levels of 8192 allow a digital artist to fully express his design ideas with at most precision. When it comes to lines, color, and response rate, a speed of 233 LPI provides fast muscle pressure detection.
The tablet is fitted with the recent Huion 10mm battery-free Stylus PW100 Pen. The pen supports Tilt control making system pressure sensors more accurate. A 12mm sensing height is quite effective for pen detection. 8 nibs are stored inside a lovely pen holder. This makes long-term use possible without the need to purchase a new nib when worn out.
You will have 8 programmable press keys that you can customize to your design style and habits. Additionally, 16 defined soft keys bring about an easy workflow.
Compatible with most mainstream designing software, you can comfortably work your operations on Windows and macOS.
Pros
- Impressive pressure sensitivity levels help an artist be more precise.
- Battery-free stylus with Tilt control capabilities.
- A nice size for a better working area and quite small for mobility.
Cons
- Low levels of response rate compared to its rival tablets.
Wacom Intuos Pro Medium
Best Wacom Tablet for Graphic Design
Wacom Intuos Pro offers the best-rated stylus in the market and with a pen pressure sensitivity of 8192, the experience only gets better. Wacom’s Pro pen 2 is additionally fitted with a +plus 60 degrees tilt function that ensures you have full control of your designs. The tablet is quite light when compared to most tablets its size poses an added mobility advantage since It comes in 13.2 by 8.5 inches in size.
The high-definition screen display is achieved by a 5080 LPI level and fitted with Multi-gesture support, the experience and work are made nice and enjoyable. Express keys come in handy when designing is considered and with Intuos’ 8 customizable keys, you can program them to your liking for a smooth workflow.
Battery life should not be a problem as the lithium-ion 1200 milliampere battery has a 10hr life giving you ample usage without needing to plug in the power.
Built-in Bluetooth enhances easy connectivity while a USB connection ensures connection to your computer whether you’re comfortable with the macOS or the Windows operating systems.
The tablet furthermore comes with recycled polyester and a spandex-made glove that apart from being comfortable for your palm, is good for the environment. Sticking to the accessories the Intuos Pro comes with 6 additional pen nibs,4 felt nibs,4 extra pen color rings, and a 2m PVC-free USB cable.
Pros
- Best-rated market stylus with +60 degrees tilt function for precision and control.
- Best suited for professional designers.
- Quite light and Size is well built for easy mobility and with ample working area.
- High levels of pen pressure sensitivity levels enhance precision and control.
- Compatible with various operating systems of user’s preference.
Cons
- Quite expensive, especially for amateur designers.
Huion Kamvas Pro 13 Best tablet under 300$
The Kamvas Pro 13 offers a nice 13.3 inches of screen thickness of 11.5 x 6.5 inches of size. Equipped with the PW507 battery-free Stylus pen that supports a +60 degrees tilt function, you get a comfortable experience enhanced by a stunning 8192 worth of pen pressure sensitivity levels, the maximum levels in this field.
Lagging is a problem while dealing with most drawing tablets but in the Kamvas Pro a 220 PPS level of report rate, lags are eliminated offering smooth and constant line input.
The screen view in this tablet is perfected by a 5080 LPI resolution making the color display quite impressive if not enough, fitted with anti-glare technology and application of full lamination craft, brightness is enhanced and you get protected from light bounce back and offer screen transparency. Having a full laminated screen also enables the cursor to move with the pen nib without parallax.
Additionally, a cute pen holder enhances pen stability and also holds 10 spare nibs facilitating nib replacement. 4 customizable express keys and a one-touch bar keep your shortcut habits the way you like them for a smooth workflow. Connection is made easier by a 3-in-1 supporting HDMI, USB, and power connection thus eliminating wire bundle for a clean desk.
The Kamvas Pro 13 is additionally fitted with an ST100 stand that enables the tablet positioning adjustable for the designer’s comfort.
Pros
- Nice build size for the designer working space.
- Battery-free stylus pen saves charging time.
- Maximum levels of pressure sensitivity.
- High screen resolution for a nice display.
- Additional stand for adjustable screen positioning.
Cons
Huion Inspiroy H640P Cheapest Drawing Tablet
The H640P is a 6.3 x 3.9 inches tablet with some great features. In terms of display, the screen
resolution is up to standard with 5080 LPI worth of clear color and a nice design display. The PW100 battery-free stylus pen is accompanied by the tablet’s 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity which ensures precision and control during design.
Experience is made even better and lag-free by 233 PPS levels of response rate and a 10mm reading height giving you a paper-like experience. Fitted with 6 programmable keys, navigating through the tablet and designing is made easier as you can customize the keys to your liking.
Huion Inspiroy’s package comes with 6 additional PN04 nibs for efficient nib replacement, a micro-USB cable for connection to your computer, a PH03 pen holder, and an OTG adapter.
The Huion H640P Is compatible with AndroidOS macOS and Windows operating systems with the connection made possible by the micro-USB cable.
Pros
- The quite small size comes in handy when it comes to mobility
- Compatible with most operating systems, therefore, is up to users’ preference.
- Impressive screen resolution levels ensure an eye-satisfying display.
- Battery-free stylus and high-pressure sensitivity levels ensure the designer has control and heightened precision when it comes to his designs.
Cons
- The tablet’s small size may be a problem for most designers.
Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus (4K) Best with Keys
Best Huion Tablet for Graphic Design
Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus is one of the best drawing tablets with a screen out there. The size of the tablet is impressively large with a gross size of 15.6 inches and a 13mm thickness, giving you ample space and yet an average size for mobility and portability.
With high screen resolution levels of 3480*2160 UHD with 5080lpi of the display, you get a splendid screen view and the additional 4K feature offers 4 times that of high definition. Moreover, with the additional anti-glare glass, there is a reduction of parallax and additional screen transparency.
The PW507 battery-free Stylus is comfortable to the user enabling long working hours with almost no palm fatigue enhancing productivity. Additionally, 8192 pen pressure sensitivity levels and 25ms of response time make the experience enjoyable and fast at the same time.
Also, the Pro16 has a double USB-C port that creates a quick game console, android device, and computer connections for a quick, easy and reliable connection.
Furthermore, a 3-in-1 HDMI port enables connection to a monitor bringing about the 4K feature to life. However, using a USB-C to USB-C connection for the 4K display requires high power voltage therefore plugin in the power cable is required.
Pros
- 4K High-definition display.
- Anti Glare screen glass protects users from light bounce back, eliminates parallax, and increases transparency.
- High-pressure sensitivity levels are great for line accuracy and precision.
- High-speed response time makes the tablet work faster and more efficiently.
- large working area and quite a great size to pack and move around with.
Cons
- lack of shortcut keys may be a disadvantage to some designers.
Conclusion
If you are a graphic designer in search of a design tablet, don’t rush it to avoid purchasing a product that will not serve your needs. First, get the features that affect your day-to-day designs, then the price range you fall under and sure one of the above will be the tablet you are looking for.
How to choose the Best Tablet for Graphic Design
Screen Resolution
When dealing with Graphic Design, how the design is displayed is of utmost importance. High-screen resolution tablets give you a close-to-end product view of your design.
Every graphic designer, be it a professional or an amateur, seeing your ideas come to life boosts creativity and productivity and with a high-definition display offering just that, you are unlimited in your work.
Pressure Sensitivity
This feature makes it a near-drawing experience as a real canvas painting built into a computer. High-pressure sensitivity ensures you get the lines and color in the correct shade and thickness allowing pen detection to offer perfect precision and accuracy.
Response Rate
Response rate speed is the amount of time taken by a tablet to transmit stylus positioning to the computer. This feature helps speed up your designs without having to wait for your display. Lagging may cause a slow work rate therefore, having a tablet with a faster response rate will be better for you.
Size
Size is also a factor to consider the larger the tablet, the better the working space. But extreme size may pose a problem when it comes to mobility and portability.
When you have a standalone tablet a smaller-sized tablet may be best suited for you as you can pack it in a bag and move around working on your designs while one can prefer a bigger tablet for its working space area.
Stylus
Some people claim it’s the most important feature, for it does all the drawing capabilities and by it being well modified a designer is well suited in his tasks and designs. Having a powerful stylus may be the difference between a great drawing and a just-average one. Most companies like Wacom have done their homework and brought about quality and effective stylus.
Budget
The price of tablets varies and this is brought about by different factors and different brands. Although it is quite obvious the higher the price the better the product, you can get some tablets at low costs in consideration of the features they inhabit.
Best Tablets for Graphic Design
- Wacom Cintiq 16 – Best Overall
- Wacom Cintiq 22 – Best tablet for Graphic design and animation
- XP-Pen Artist 12 – Most affordable tablet
- Apple iPad Pro 12.9 inch – Best iPad for Graphic Design
- Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra – Samsung tablet for graphic design
- Huion H610 Pro Best graphic design tablet for beginners
- Wacom Intuos Pro Medium – Best Wacom for Graphic Design
- Huion Kamvas Pro 13 – Best tablet under 300$
- Huion Inspiroy H640P – Cheapest Tablet
- Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus (4K) – Best HuionTablet for Graphic Design
Related Content
Wacom Cintiq 22 vs Huion Kamvas 22 (Plus) Comparison
Which graphic tablet is best for graphic design?
Wacom Cintiq 16 is the best graphic tablet is best for graphic design? If you prefer a Samsung Tablet we recommend Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra.
Wacom Cintiq 22 – Best tablet for Graphic design and animation
XP-Pen Artist 12 – Most affordable tablet
Apple iPad Pro 12.9 inch – Best iPad for Graphic Design
Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra – Samsung tablet for graphic design
Huion H610 Pro Best graphic design tablet for beginners
Wacom Intuos Pro Medium – Best Wacom for Graphic Design
Huion Kamvas Pro 13 – Best tablet under 300$
Huion Inspiroy H640P – Cheapest Tablet
Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus (4K) – Best HuionTablet for Graphic DesignDo graphic designers need a tablet?
Although tablets are convenient and a great additin, they are not a must have for graphic designers or digital artists. However, many have opted for them for an easier and faster workflow.
How to choose tablet for graphic design?
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